It’s been months since anyone had seen or interacted with former NFL insider Dianna Russini. But as the NFL season draws ever nearer, some alternative media outlets are being asked if they might be interested in hiring her.
That very question was asked of former ESPN analyst and NBC contributor Matthew Berry. In a recent interview with OutKick, Berry was asked if he might consider hiring his former ESPN colleague at his Fantasy Life company.
Berry perked up at the idea, but made it clear that as much as he considers her a friend, the question would come down to cost and what she could contribute to the company since he doesn’t really deal in breaking news.
“It’s a great question. I like Dianna a lot,” Berry said. “I will say this: I consider Dianna a friend. And I think she’s really, really talented and good on air.
“So, you know, the question would become, can we afford her? What is she going to do for the company? Because we don’t really break news.”
“This isn’t specific to her, but anyone that we might hire, I ask how do they fit? How do they fit within the team? How much do they want us to pay them? Can we afford that person? Can we monetize that person? Is that person going to do a show for us? Is that person going to be a contributor across the shows that we have? Do we think that person drives traffic?” he added.
Berry & Russini
Berry did, however, sing her praises. He highlighted Russini’s work ethic from their time together at ESPN and said that she “always came prepared, energetic.”
“I will tell you that every time I was on ESPN, and we had her do any of my shows, she would come on my podcast, she would come on the fantasy show, she did the Sunday morning show. She always came prepared, energetic. She was nice to all the producers. Showed up on time, prepared, gave a great performance. Whatever we needed.”
He didn’t have much of an opinion on the allegations of a relationship between Russini and New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.
“If she was working at Fantasy Life, she would be providing content that would help people win their fantasy leagues, not necessarily what she did at ESPN or The Athletic.”
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Russini stepped down from her position as senior NFL insider at The Athletic in April following the release of photographs of her with Vrabel at a resort in Arizona. She publicly denied rumors that the two were having any sort of extramarital affair.
The Athletic has pledged to conduct an investigation into the matter on their own.
